Veteran radio reporter Patrick Madden to direct news coverage at Baton Rouge and New Orleans public radio stations.
BATON ROUGE, La. – 89.3 WRKF-FM, Baton Rouge’s NPR member station, today announced Patrick Madden has been named regional news director in a collaborative hiring arrangement with New Orleans NPR station WWNO-FM effective May 1, 2019. Madden will direct local news coverage at each station and regional coverage between both.
Madden, a 12-year public radio veteran was an investigative reporter at WAMU in Washington, D.C. where he won two national Edward R. Murrow awards.
The joint news director hire is the latest in the stations’ ongoing collaborative endeavors. The stations’ news teams currently collaborate on state government and politics coverage for WRKF’s Capitol Access, on stories for WWNO’s Coastal Desk, and partnered on flood recovery reporting in 2017. WRKF hired as its president and general manager WWNO’s general manager, Paul Maassen, in a management sharing arrangement in 2016.
“Pooling talent makes the best use of each station’s resources. With a news director and coordinated coverage from two stations’ news teams, WRKF will provide broader coverage of local and regional news,” said WRKF President and General Manager Paul Maassen.
“Patrick Madden is an experienced public radio reporter with excellent news judgment and a talent for telling stories that make people want to listen,” said Len Apcar, a member of WRKF’s board of directors, who served on the search committee.
Madden also worked at Washington, D.C.’s NBC4 and C-SPAN. He attended Emory University and holds a master’s degree in journalism from American University.
89.3 WRKF-FM, Baton Rouge's NPR station, informs and entertains the community with news, information, and cultural programs. Founded in 1980, WRKF is supported by donors and underwriters who value discovering the world around them.
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